The Crew Chapter Five
The following Sunday morning at 7 AM, Michael and Jerry parked their car in a guest space at Jeff's and Jim's condo. This was the last weekend that Ron and Foster would be going up early to help in his parents' store until next April. The following Sunday they would all travel there together. They had begun to refer to the cabin as their `little piece of heaven.'
There was no luggage to place in the car as they expected to be home before dinner. They drove to their favorite Denny's for breakfast and then headed upstate. Their first stop was the Fisher's home. When they arrived, they all hugged and kissed, and Jeff asked if they had been to the cabin.
"Not yet," Ron said, "We were waiting for you guys to arrive."
"We were waiting for you also," Jason said. "We can all go check it out right after church services." He looked at his watch and said, "We ought to get going." When they got outside and saw Jeff's new van, they made quite a fuss over it. Jeff showed them all the bells and whistles of the fully loaded vehicle. Ron and Foster went with his parents and the other four went in Jeff's new van.
When they arrived at the church, they saw that the crowd was considerably lighter than last week, and they figured that many summer residents had closed down their cabins for the season. Michael and Jerry spotted Randy and Liz and ran over. This time they all hugged each other warmly. Michael picked up Liz and gave her a big smack of a kiss on her cheek. She started to giggle. "You tickled me," she said.
Randy wanted to know if they had been out to the cabin. Michael said they would go after church, and Randy said that he would meet them there. In the mean time the others were milling through the crowd greeting everyone they knew. Finally they all went into the sanctuary and found seats. The organist and the choir found their places and Pastor Paul came out and stood at the lectern. Michael was pleased to see that the suit he was wearing fit him much better this Sunday.
When the congregation began to sing the first hymn, the crew sang joyfully and loudly. They felt more at home this week and joined in whole heartedly with all the others. They had each made a subconscious decision that this was going to be their church from now on.
This week's sermon concerned nit picking the bible to find little snippets of verse to use for bigotry. "God is all about love," Paul told his flock, "and to use his name to support bigotry and hate was to deny his love for us all." The homosexuals listening to him knew exactly what he meant. Michael knew in his heart that this sermon was for the benefit of Paul's new church members.
During the social hour, Jerry managed to get Paul aside. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
"Sure, son. What's up?"
Jerry cleared his throat. It was evident it was going to be hard for him to say what he wanted to. "Speak up, Jerry. I don't bite and I certainly don't judge."
Jerry got his courage up. He cleared his throat again and began speaking. "You must realize that Michael and I are life partners. Even though he refers to himself as a terminal catholic, he is still pretty much rooted in catholic dogma. He loves me but fears for my soul, not because we are gay, but because I am not baptized. I thought maybe, since we plan on being members of your church, you would instruct me in your religion, and baptize me."
Paul put his arm around Jerry's shoulder and laughed. "Jerry, he said, "There is no dogma in my church. All you need do is accept that God exists and that he loves you as he does all his children. I'd be honored to baptize you. How about we surprise everyone next Sunday?"
"That would be great," Jerry answered. "Let's keep it our little secret."
"Who would you like to be your godparents?" Paul asked.
Jerry thought for a minute and said, "I guess the Fishers."
"Wonderful," Paul said. "We can even surprise them. At the proper time, I'll call on them to come to the baptismal font and be your godparents. I don't think there will be a problem. In fact I can guarantee they'll be thrilled. Now we had better join the others."
The crew thought that they, the Fishers, Randy and Liz would be the only ones caravanning to the cabin, but they soon realized that half the church congregation followed them. There was Rosie, Joey, Dan and Warren, Pastor Paul, several friends of the Fishers, and a few others that only Ron knew.
They were shocked when they got there. Randy's construction crew had only worked on the place for four days. The guys were unprepared for so much progress. The back porch and the dining room wall were gone. The new wall, however, was framed out. The studs were in place as was a clearly visible space for the door which would lead to the new wing. The concrete slab had been poured, and about half the new structure had been framed out. You could actually get a feel for what the place would look like. Randy assured them that by next Sunday, the wing would be all closed in, the roof would be on and the siding would be in place. Then weather would not be a factor because all the remaining work would be indoors. Foster looked at the work from a more professional viewpoint and he was pleased that he had chosen Randy. Every part of the construction was first rate work. Everything was done far beyond code requirements.
The rest of the folks oohed and aahed, and then most of them left to go home. The crew, the Fishers, Dan, Warren, Randy, Liz, and last but not least, Paul, drove to Rosie's for lunch. Michael wanted to ask Paul some personal questions, but he decided to hold his tongue, just as he had with Jeff in regard to his fathers. If Paul had something to tell them, and if he ever wanted to, Michael was certain that he would.
During the lunch, Michael found himself sitting next to Dan so he took the opportunity to ask him about Paul. Dan told him that Paul had a ministry, coincidentally, in St. Paul, Minn. About three years ago, his wife passed away. They never had children and Paul wanted to live in a new place without a lot of sad memories, so he answered their ad for a new minister, and here he is. Dan added, "He sure has made a big change in our church service, all to the better. The folks all love him and approve of his philosophy about life. I think that's why our town is so liberal and so accepting of diversity. Thank God and thank Pastor Paul."
After lunch the crew all headed back to the Fishers to hang out and everyone else went home. Josie informed them that she had made dinner for all which she would serve early about 5:30. They could all be started for home before 7 and would certainly get home by 9. The men started to object, but she would hear none of it.
They started for home in very high spirits. The cabin addition was proceeding nicely, and they felt really confident that it was all in Randy's very capable hands. They also noted that next weekend they would all be sharing a ride and that made them feel good too. They hated being separated. They treasured every moment they shared as a family.
Jeff dropped Michael and Jerry off at their car in the parking lot and they all kissed good night. Jeff could not help but notice that Jerry had a silly grin on his face, but dismissed it to a case of fatigue.
When they got upstairs and locked the door. Jeff and Jim embraced warmly. "I've missed your kisses," Jim said. "Me too," Jeff echoed. In minutes they were in the shower together. They took joy in washing each other's bodies. Each one knew exactly where his partner's erogenous zones were and concentrated on getting those areas meticulously clean in anticipation of what was to come.
When they were in bed together, Jeff climbed on top of Jim in a sixty nine position. They each found each other's cocks and begin tickling the shaft with their tongues. Jeff moved slightly forward so he could kiss Jim's balls and Jim's `hot spot' between his balls and the crack of his ass. He couldn't quite reach Jim's love hole in this position, but he was doing enough to drive Jim wild, and Jim was doing all he could to reciprocate. Usually when they felt their climaxes approaching they would stop their partner and hold back the orgasm. Tonight, they were so lost in ecstasy that both just let it happen. Jim came first and Jeff got so busy trying to drink down all his spunk, he temporarily lost his own feeling of relief, but just for a few seconds, and then he came in great gushes, and Jim gobbled him all up. They lay still for a while and then Jeff turned around to face Jim. Their lips and cocks met, and before they knew it, they were fast asleep.
During the next week, two important events occurred. Of course, they didn't seem significant at the time, but both were to affect the lives of all the crew in the years to come.
First of all, Michael had a kid sister. He adored her, and she thought that Michael was the be all and the end all in her life. Michelle had foolishly married her high school sweetheart right after graduation. He was the star of the football team, very conceited, and very homophobic. Needless to say there was no love lost between Lance Gordon and Michael Costello.
Lance was not a scholar so college was not in his plans. He got a job at Walmart in the electronics department. Michelle cancelled her plans to go to college, and worked in the same store in the ladies department. From the start, Lance flirted with all the good looking women who came in and they responded gladly. He bedded one after the other, and finally brought home a case of the crabs, infecting Michelle.
After that incident, Michelle realized what a mistake she had made. She separated from Lance and went back to college, earning a degree in nursing. The only blessing from this marriage was that it produced no children. Michael supported his sister all the way, even offering financial assistance when he knew it was difficult for his parents. During all these years, Michelle had not formally divorced Lance. There seemed no need unless either of them wanted to remarry. Lance's sex life went on as usual.
When Michelle met Jerry for the first time she was on her guard. She had never known Michael ever to have had a serious relationship. Within moments her doubts were gone and she took Jerry into her life. Unfortunately Michelle lived in Tucson and they didn't get to see each other as much as they would have liked.
Early Wednesday morning, Michael got a call from Michelle. She told him that Lance wanted a divorce so he could get married again. Would he handle it for her?
"Of course," Michael told her. "This one will be a pleasure."
She said she wanted to come for the weekend for several reasons. Of course she wanted to see Michael and Jerry, but she also wanted to discuss the divorce and look into the possibility of moving to Phoenix to be nearer to her brother and brother in law.
Michael knew this might mean that he and Jerry might not be able to go up to the cabin, but there was no way he could say no. As soon as he hung up on Michelle he called Jeff.
"Hey Jeff," he said cheerily. "There's a hitch in our weekend plans. Since your car seats seven, and we have no luggage going up north this Sunday, do you think we could take another passenger? A tiny one," he added.
"I guess so," Jeff mumbled. "Who did you have in mind?"
Michael filled him in on Michelle's divorce and possible move to Phoenix. Jeff had been dubious before, but now he was really cheery. "Sure," he said. "It will be fun. How come you and Jim never told me you had a sister?"
The second incident occurred Friday morning. When he was alone in his office, Jerry called Paul to discuss the baptism and to tell him that he wanted to pay for the food in the social hall after the service. Paul didn't argue that offer at all.
Paul said that he had not put a notice in the church bulletin that there was going to be a baptism that Sunday. He was just going to make the announcement at the proper time, and then call him and the Fishers up to the pulpit. He'd give everyone a moment to get over the shock and then he would perform the simple rite. When he invited everyone to the social hall after the service, as he always did, he would ask them to attend as guests of Jerry Rubin.
They chatted for a few minutes like old friends, and suddenly Jerry felt comfortable enough to say something to Paul. "Dan told me about your wife's passing back in St. Paul," he said, "and I wanted to tell you how sorry I am."
There was a long silence and Jerry regretted opening his big, fat mouth. "I'm sorry for getting so personal," he said. "Please forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive," Paul said. "I was just sitting here trying to make a decision and I've made it. I want to tell you something. And I want you to know that it isn't a secret, if you want to tell your friends. When I applied for the position of pastor of this wonderful church, my résumé said that I was a recent widower. That was true, but the church board assumed that my wife had passed, when in fact it was my partner of over twenty five years. He was my whole life, Jerry. He died of a brain tumor. Not a day goes by that I don't miss him and mourn for him. I didn't exactly lie, and when everyone thought I had lost my wife, I just didn't correct the misconception. I knew that everyone accepted Dan and Warren and Ron and Foster, but they were all life time residents and I was a stranger, so I said nothing, and nobody ever discussed `her.' Then when I met you fellows, and I saw how loving and accepting everyone was, and how honest you all were with the residents here, I've now decided to come out."
Jerry was stunned, but Michael had hinted to him that his gaydar was suspicious, and Jerry knew that Michael would be pleased. Of course, he couldn't tell Michael anything until after the baptism. Michael's legal eagle mind would want to know why Jerry had had a conversation with Paul.
"Thank you for sharing that with me, but if you don't mind Paul, I'll keep it our secret until after the baptism. Also, I don't think I should out you. You'll have to do it yourself. And for what it's worth, I don't think it will make a damn bit of difference to your congregation."
To be continued...